Steamboat Springs  Britt Walton carded the second best round of the day, but it wasn’t enough to bump the Steamboat Springs High School golf team to first place Monday in a Grand Junction area tournament. Playing at Tiara Rado Golf Course, Steamboat finished second to the home team, Grand Junction. The Sailors were 11 shots back.

“We are pressing a little bit,” assistant coach Andrew Donner said. “Once we let the game come to us more, we’ll see our numbers drop, and we’ll be in good shape.”

Walton shot a 75, two shots off the lead, to standout as Steamboat’s best for the day. Slow on the first few holes, Walton caught fire as the round wore on, playing his best golf late in the day.

“He hit a lot of quality golf shots and hit a lot of quality putts,” Donner said. “Some of his putts just burned the edge and lipped out, but he really struck the ball well today. He stayed focused and stayed within his game.”

Casey Weston and Andrew Firestone each shot 81s for Steamboat.

“We’re not playing quite as well as we did last year,” Donner said. “Last year, we peaked early, then struggled at regionals. We’re hoping it goes the opposite direction this year. Our guys get out there and they expect good numbers, as they should, because they’re good golfers. But they put that pressure on themselves. They need to let the game come to them a little more.”